


Assasins Don't Just Kill

by YoAlexander



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Backstory, Brothers, Bullies, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Popcorn, Stars, Tags to be added, Trans Damian, ace damian, collection of oneshots, skills, with an overarching idea
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2018-12-15 12:50:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11806356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoAlexander/pseuds/YoAlexander
Summary: Assasins are taught more than just how to kill people, which may explain some of the more strange talents and knowledge that Damian posseses.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Damian Wayne dosen't really like his body, but he knew how to use it just as well as any other weapon.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, as a side note, I made some Damian theamed tea if any of you guys want some:  
> https://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/blend.html?blend=126769  
> More teas to come with more of the Batfamily soon.  
> Enjoy!

“Are you ready for patrol?”

Damian refused to dignify such a pointless question with a proper response - not even a glare. Instead he glanced at his eldest brother as pushed off of the wall across from the Batmobile that he had been leaning on in full uniform and started walking towards the motorbikes that every Robin, past and present, seemed to prefer. After a few seconds, he voiced his inquiry. 

“Where’s Father?” It wasn’t often that his Father skipped patrol.

“Researching,” Dick sighed. “He’s completely obsessed with this new case that he caught wind of. something about children going missing and an unusual derease in peodophile reports.” Damian screened the speech for any useful information and did his best to ignore the rest. “He wasn’t very forthcoming. Pretty much just called for me to take his place on patrol tonight, which of course I don’t mind doing. I just wish he would actually take the time to share some of this information.”

When it became obvious that the rest of the”conversation” would only be idle chatter, he interjected with a, “Are we going or not?”

“After all,” Grayson continued, “we might just find some clues while we’re out if we know what we’re looking for, you know?” He placed his helmet on his head and drove his bike out of the cave. Damian zoomed after him, glad to finally be moving.

\---

Patrol went as well as was normal for the first few hours. All the large profile villains were staying out of trouble for the moment, but there was still plenty of other crimes to occupy the superheros’ time. The night was just busy enough to justify the due splitting up to cover a larger area. It was right around this time that Damian was regretting the decision.

He was on a rooftop contemplating the best course of action to deal with the situation unfolding in the alley beneath him. There was a man, either a pedophile or a kidnapper or possibly both, who had cornered a child who seemed just a bit younger than Damian. The situation was complicated due to the many men who were stationed in semi-hiding around the duo.There were, he hated to admit, too many people for him to take out alone. He could call for backup, but who knew how long it would take for Grayson to finish what he was doing and get his butt down here. Then the speech he was bombarded with earlier that evening floated to the forefront of his brain. Disappearing children. A child being surrounded by way too many men to take down one child. Father was just in the beginnings of his research with this case, and here Damian was facing a jackpot of information. He quickly jumped off the building, caught himself with his grappling gun, and ran back to his bike.

It was less than a minute before he appeared at the mouth of the ally in an alternated version of his civilian clothes and a few quick, colored contacts. His jacket was gone and the sleeves as well as a good eight inch strip from around the bottom of his shirt that had been cut off. There were also a few new and much too large rips on his jeans. To complete the look, his hair was purposely disheveled. the look cause that pounding in the back of his head to intensify, but he forced it back and buried it under Batman’s speeches about duty.

“Oh come on,” he said calmly but loud enough to catch the man’s attention. That kid obviously doesn’t appreciate your advances.” He placed his hand on his hip and tilted his head to the side, just as he had been taught. “Why don’t you pursue someone who does?”

The mad had looked surprised at his appearence but not was flickering his gaze between his previous prey and Damian. “And,” he said, “you’d appreciate my advances?”

Damian risked getting a few steps closer despite the man’s offensive stance. “I assure you that I’d do much more than appreciate them.” He licked his lips and thrust out his chest in the guise of looking up at his prey. “I’d love them.”

The man’s eyes tracked over the new picture Damian had created appreciatively. The pedophile assumption had definity been correct then.

“You report to anyone?”

“I’ve got no strings on me.” He splayed his hands on either side of his head and wiggled his fingers. “Unless, of course, you like that kind of thing. Then I would let you wrap me up.”

The man cleared his throat, completely disregarding the other child by this point, before continuing his line of questioning. “And, how would you feel about being shared with a few . . . friends of mine?”

Damian cocked his head as is assessing the question deeply before he smiled. “Well, if they look half as charming as yourself then I guess I wouldn’t mind much.”

“Then why don’t you come along with me? I’ll take you to where my friends are, and we can all have a good time.” Daman gave a particularly sweet smile before taking the offered hand and being lead to the man’s car.

It wasn’t a very impressive car, but it’s purpose was clear. It was a common make and model with heavily tinted windows and good tires. Damian would bet that it would be a fast car despite it’s slightly beat up look. 

The man’s grip on his hand was tight, as if he was afraid that Damian would run away any second. If he was there for any other purpose, the man’s precautions would be completely justified. As it was, his comm was transferring to his bike live where every word was being recorded and his distress beacon was within easy reach and disguised on his person. Damian had no fears.

\---

Dick Grayson, on the other hand, was consumed by anxiety. He had made his way to Robin’s last known location after he hadn’t responded to his last few calls. The location was decidedly Robin-less. His bike was still there, but the ripped clothing around it was worrying since the younger hero was still missing in action. It wasn’t after a more thorough search of the area that Nightwing decided to check the bike more closely. It was then that he discovered the transmission and recording.

“What the fuck, Damian!” he exclaimed under his breath. “I thought we talked about this.” After a few more seconds for quietly freaking out, he called the cave. “So, um, I have some news.”

“What?” came Bruce’s rough voice over the comm.

“Robin is MIA.”

“This time the voice was definitely more focused on the conversation. “What happened?”

“Not sure yet. His com is broadcasting live to his bike and recording. He’s with someone, it sounds like willingly and in civies but I haven’t listened to what’s been recorded in case it interrupted the broadcast.”

“Bring the bike back here manually and we’ll figure out the broadcast and start tracking it.”

“Sure, and while you do that I’ll actually try to find him. Is Oracle available?” If she could track the signal while the cave focused on figuring out what happened based on the recording without disrupting the broadcast then the time until Damian was found would be easily cut in half. 

He used his holo-glove to trigger the program that would cause his bike to head back to the cave, and he jumped onto Damian’s and continued onward while listening to Damian's transmission. This was so not whelming. 

\---

“So,” Damian asked the man after a few almost awkward minutes in the car, “What name should I scream when the time comes?”

The man looked at him through the rearview mirror and thought for a few seconds. “John.”

Damian snorted. “Really? Please tell me you see the humor in this.” He was graced with a small smile, but he could tell that the man, “John,” was getting more stressed the closer he got to their destination. 

It was possible that the man was just scared because he was a low level lacky. Or there could be something else at work here. He could be walking into a trap. Well, of course it was a trap. He was being “kidnaped” after all. But the operation might just be larger than he expected. He used this time of semi-privacy to move his distress beacon trigger to a position that would be more accessible if he had to keep up this charade longer than he originally attended. He desperately hopped that it wouldn’t because he had and still did hate that part of his training and it would make that pulse stronger than he prefered. He could deal with it just fine, but the aftermath would be awful. Still, he was never one to shy away from a challenge. 

“When we got to wherever we’re going, what do want me to do, John?” he asked.

“Oh! Um, it will be explained to you . . . when we get there.”

“I can deal with that.” He changed his position from a sitting one to lounging over the entire back seat. “Anything you feel like warning me about? So I can prepare.”

There was a longer silence this time before John answered. “There will be . . . others.”

“Other men?” Damian proaded. “Because I already said that I was cool with that.”

“No. Well, yes. There will be other men, but that’s not what I mean.” He was nervous about how Damiann would react. “There will be other children.”

“Hmm.” This was looking more and more like the organization that his father was searching for. “Well, I usually prefer to do things myself, but I guess I can deal.” He faked a disappointed sigh. “I guess that I’ll just have to miss out on a few rounds.”

Damian noticed the car’s sudden increase in speed, but he wasn’t about to mention anything. He did wonder why John hadn’t started anything yet, but he was probably on orders not to. 

“Don’t worry. There will be more than enough time,” John commented hopefully.

“I guess that I’ll take this time to save up my energy then.” He closed his eyes and did exactly as he said. He saved up his energy for the trials ahead. It was looking more likely that he would have to share the thing he hated. He would need to save every drop of energy to not break character.

\---

It wasn’t too much longer before the car finally stopped. Damian doubted that they had actually gone as far as it seemed. They were most likely still within Gotham City limits, if not then they were definitely right outside of them. It was too common of a trick to drive around in circles and backtrack in an attempt to throw off both the passenger as well as any pursuers they might have to actually work effectively. The sheer amount of time that had passed was clear as soon as his door was opened, though. It had only been nearing midnight when he had left with John and was now nearing sunrise.Though, it was still more than an hour away, morning was drawing closer han he would have liked. If Nightwing got too antsy about him not answering any of his calls then it was possible that he could interrupt the operation before he had gained the maximum amount of information.

He let John lead him into the warehouse looking building by a hand on the shoulder. On the other side of the door was a hallway with a door on either side and seemed to empty into a large room. Damian didn’t get the chance to test this hypothesis because he was ushered through the door on the left-hand wall and into a small room that was decorated to look like an executive's office. A man in a nice suit and with slicked back hair sat behind the desk. Four what looked to be guards stood in the corners of the room. Each one held a large, military grade gun. Wasn’t surprising considering this was Gotham.

Damian hid his surveying glances with a crooked grin. Well, hey there?” He said. “What’s with the guns? I thought we were all here to have a good time. Unless they want to join in too? I’d be fine with that.” He switched his gaze to rake over the guards and their weapons.

The man behind the desk ignored his advances and leveled a hard stare at John. It was obvious that he was nervous. “Does this one fit regulation?” he asked.

“O-of course!” he replied. “I wouldn’t give you tainted merchandise.” The man was still staring at John doubtfully. “Besides this one is better than the others. He’s willing.”

“Alright,” Damian interrupted, “I’m gonna need some more information pretty darn soon if you guys want this to play out the way you want it to.” He made sure that his crossed arms pulled up on his shirt to reveal just a hint of bare skin to go with the pout on his face. He would never admit it, but he was starting to get desperate for information. Or maybe a chance to get violent, bring down the entire operation, and get out before the situation encroached upon more sensitive topics. Still, he should be fully capable of finishing this up before then. 

The man’s gaze finally turned to him. “You make a good point.” Now it seemed as if he was the only one worth focusing on since his eyes didn’t move an inch as he gave his next orders. “Fetch whoever is on duty to get him ready while finish dealing with this business.”

The guard closest to the door immediately left the room. Damian kept his eyes locked with the man’s as the guard returned with a boy a little older than himself. It was with great reluctance that he kept character by breaking eye contact to survey the boy more closely. 

He was scared. that was obvious. but also had a rebellious streak. He kept a submissive stance but his eyes kept flickering between the desk, the guard's weapons and the door. He was dressed in plain, clean clothing, nothing fancy or overly personalized.

“So, I take it that you’re my guide?” Damian asked the boy. His attention barely flickered to Damian as the man behind the desk spoke once more. 

“Yes. Take him through the usual prep and bring him to the holding area for testing.” It was an obvious dismissal. The boy nodded and walked out the door. With one last glance around the room, Damian followed. 

He was led down the hallway to the other door. This led to a blank room with only one other exit: a door on the opposite wall. The entire room was a pale, gray color except for one small, red light that was currently off, which was attached to the way next to the door. 

“So, what happens here?” Damian asked.

“We wait for the rest of the rooms to be ready and in the meantime, you’re gonna put your clothes in that corner.” He shoved his thumb to the side to indicate the specific place. “All of them,” he clarified. 

Damian responded with a hum followed by a grin. “Will you be joining me in soon to be nude state?” He didn’t move to remove any clothing.

The boy scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Not a chance. But I’ll give you some free advice.” Damian raised an eyebrow. “Don’t be so eager?”

“Why not?” he asked.

“You’ll get in enough trouble without asking for it. And the less trouble you’re in, the longer you’ll survive. Trust me.”

“Survive?” Damian kept his expression quizzical.

“Yeah.” After a short pause, the boy’s facial expression shifted from one of slightly annoyed boredom to surprised worry. His voice was much gentler when he next spoke. “You do know what’s happening, don’t you How’d you get here?”

Damian shrugged. “I went with a John who has some friends,” he said casually.

“Oh boy,” he said. He dropped his defensive stance and ran a hand over his face before continuing on. “Look, this isn’t a nice situation and none of us deserve to be in it, but we are. And you deserve to know what you’re getting into.” Damian raised both eyebrows to prompt his continuation. “You’re not going to go home any time soo, probably never again, because you’ve been taken by a human trafficking ring. One that specializes in kids.” He was braced as if he expected Damian to freak out. Instead he wanted to see if he could fish out enough information while to kid was willing to give it.

“Ok,” he said. “Is it a big operation?”

“Um.” The kid was obviously surprised.

“Is this the only base of operations, for example, or is this just one small part?” he specified.

“Oh, I think that this place is new, so I guess that they wouldn’t have had the time to spread, but, seriously dude, that’s your question?”

Maybe he hadn’t eased the kid into the line of question enough before he tackled the hard questions. “ I mean, I just want to know how many other kids are stuck here,” he said to try and save his line of questioning.

“Ok.” He still seemed off-put but was a little more relaxed than before. “There’s usually at least ten of us here at a time. Of course, when they find a buyer, they find a replacement. Until ten, it’s survival of the fittest.”

Damian crossed to the wall and leaned against it to give himself something to do. “So, why are you helping these kidnappers?” This shocked the boy.

“I’m not!”

“Sure you are.” He crossed his arms and looked down his nose at the boy. “You’re helping them out by doing their work for them.”

“How so?”

“You seem to know what you’re doing, which means that you’ve done this before. You make the kids they bring venerable for them to use.”

Judging by the fists clenched at his side, the boy was getting angry. That was good. The more angry he got, the less filters he’d have. And if Damian was correct about his rebellious streak, then if was possible that he would be able to bring the boy over to his side. As it was, he was great for stalling. Damian pushed away from the wall to face the kid head on.

“Lucky for you, I’m not any ordinary kid.”

The kid snorted. “You’re not, huh?” Damian frowned. He recognized that tone for the sarcasm it was. 

“No, I’m not.” He re-crossed his arms and attempted to make himself seem larger than his physical height would allow. “In fact, I’m probably your only hope right now, so I hope that we can cooperate and you’ll give give me the information I ask for.”

The kid looked a little less sure of himself now. But he still refused to bow to Damian completely. “Ok. I’ll humor you. What do you want to know?”

“How many guards are there?” he asked, getting right to business. “Besides the ones in that office, or course.”

“There’s only around two or three watching the kids at a time. I know that they go on patrols around the perimeter, but I have no way of knowing how many.”

Damian nodded. “How long do you think it will be until they come looking for us?”

“Probably less than five minutes after that light goes on.” He gestured to the light behind Damian. “There will be people expecting us in the following rooms.”

“That constrains us a bit, but we an work around it.” Damian ignored the boy’s confused expression and pushed his distress beacon. Hopefully backup wouldn’t arrive before he had the chance to stir up enough trouble, but waiting any longer would risk getting into more trouble than he could handle. Especially since he didn’t know the extent of his enemies’ prowess. He walked to the door. “This thing locked? alarmed?”

“You know, I really wouldn’t know.”

Somehow, he seriously doubted that.

“Withholding information isn’t go do anything but put all of us in even more danger, so don’t make me ask again.”

“Look, I don’t trust you and you probably don’t trust me , but if you want all this information, you’re really asking the wrong person.” 

“And why’s that?”

“They keep us in the dark. There’s no way to verify if what we think to be true is actually the truth. We don’t even know for a fact what we’re being sold for. We just guess based on the actions of the guards.” He crossed his arms over his chest. While the motion had been defiant before, it now made him seem insecure. “Like I said, I don’t trust you. But I want to get out of here. And I want those kids in there,” he gestured to the hallway they had exited, “to get out too.” The spark was starting to creep back into his eyes. “If you promise me that you’ll be able to get us out, then I’ll be willing to trust you. But you have to promise that you can make this happen.”

Damian regarded him with a still stare before holding out his hand. “I promise.” 

They shook hands, and Damian nodded before turning back to the door. “Ok,” Damian said,” We’re going to have to improvise this a bit due to the lack of accurate information and time for explanation. As long as you do exactly as I say, we will emerge victorious.

“Well?”

Damian spared a second of planning to look questioningly at the boy. “What?”

“What do you want me to do?” Annoyance was starting to creep back into his voice.

“Tt.” Grayson’s voice explaining the importance of communication when working with a team was brought to the forefront of his mind. “Get the kids outside however you can and protect them.”

“I thought that’s what you were trying to do. What am I supposed to do about the guards?”

Damian sighed. “I thought you agreed to follow my orders. Figure it out and get ready to run.”

The boy was opening his mouth to probably ask another stupid question, but Damian yanked open the door to the hallway. There was no obvious alarm, which didn’t necessarily mean that one didn’t go off. He ran towards the office without looking behind him to check on the boy’s trajectory. Apparently, there had been an alarm because the office door popped open and two guards rushed out. 

He needed to get them out of commission as soon as possible. Pressure points would be quick and easy, except their armor was blocking some of them and they were too close together to attack individually. The moment he focused on only one the other would take the opportunity to down him. He would have to rely on physical force and evasion. 

He kicked up towards the left’s one’s crotch while shoving an elbow into the other’s neck. Something hard hit his foot. The other ducked. An elbow to the face had the recoiling effect that he was looking for.

The one on the left, though, was pulling his gun up. Damian jerked his leg back and pushed it over the gun. The crash of the gun into his leg caused a burst of pain. He pushed the feeling away to focus on forcing his leg and the gun downward. A sudden force shoved him back. An accompanying CRACK left his ears ringing. Vision swimming from the small explosion, Damian could make out the surprised expression on the guard's face. He must have accidentally fired.

Luckily, Damian’s reflexes were faster than the guards’. It was time to incorporate the evading section of his plan while he could. His backup was definitely on it’s way, but that didn’t mean he could waste time. The office was loaded with information that had to be secured until the enemy could be secured. Who knows what they were hiding or destroying in there. Though, there also wasn’t any way to know if the people within the office knew what was going on. they might just think he was a kid who was being stupid and trying to run, but the possibility of cameras wasn’t out of the picture. He wished he had more time to be able to hide his identity a bit better. that was the danger of going undercover. 

Damian punched the guard in the face while he was still dazed. Judging by the crack, it would keep him subdued for at least a little longer. As he rushed past them, his leg burst to the side to swipe the other to the ground.

He pulled on the door handle. It didn’t budge. the door was locked.

At the sound of scraping footsteps, he spun around to find the guard with blood rushing down his face advancing. He was pulling his gun into a ready position. Damian grabbed it. His back was pushed into the door by the man’s shove. The wood scraped his back as he pushed back. 

He leaned his weight onto the barrel and yanked on the grip, which rotated upward. It smacked into the guard’s temple with a resounding thud. As the man dropped, Damian better secured the gun in his grip. He crouched low in a corner further away from the door and shot at the lock a few times.

He immediately ducked and used the gun to help cover his face and neck from the exploding shrapnel. Pain shot up shoulder as a piece lodged itself in his skin. He didn’t remember seeing any other manual locks when he had been in the room, so his coast should be clear. He used the gun’s longer reach to nudge the door open a bit. Some random, rapid-fire into the room from behind the relative safety of the wall later, Damian jumped into the room. 

One of the remaining guards was leaning against the wall with blood running down one arm. All others had taken cover, which gave him a few precious seconds to examine the room and determine the appropriate course of action. Papers were scattered around the desk, but not in their previously neat piles. The best situation he could hope for would be to get everyone out of the room and secure it until backup could arrive. Unfortunately, by breaching the security of the room he would have a much harder time re securing it. Both Todd and his grandfather would advise him to just kill everyone in the room, but his Father and Grayson would be tragically disappointed. The guards were the problem. They had the weapons and the skills whereas their boss had what he wanted. 

So, he charged forward and jumped over the desk. As expected, the man was crouched close to desk and had his head covered by his hands. Damian quickly shoved the man closer to the ground with a kick to the back. Allowing his foot to keep pressure on the man, he placed the barrel of the gun against the man’s head. 

“If you shoot, your boss dies,” he told the guards. He hadn’t given these people any reason to doubt his bluff, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t. “Drop your weapons and kick them to that center of the room.”

The guards were obeying but slowly. He needed to finish this up soon so he could check on those kids. He had taken a large risk by sending the one kid by himself without knowing what he was capable of. Not that he was regretting the decision.

A shift from the body under his foot caused Damian to slick his attention away from the guards with a reprimand on his lips only to find a smaller gun being moved in his direction. The man was at an awkward angle, so he wouldn’t be able to get off an accurate shot. But that didn’t mean that the shot wouldn’t do any damage. Damian wanted to kick the smirk off of his face. 

“Well, it looks like we’re at a stand still,” boasted the man. “Then again, I have more guns.” 

Damian risked a side glance to confirm that the guards were now back in ready position before returning his focus to the threat nearest him. “All it takes is one,” he replied. Shuffling sounds came from across the desk. “Don’t you dare!” he threatened.

When he heard another slid of a foot he knew that he would have to do something or risk getting shot from three sides in an enclosed space. Possible but not safe enough for comfort. He shot the ground close to the man’s head and jerked to the side. The bullet grazed his side and his shoulder bounced off of the wall. As he attempted to get his footing back and bring the gun back up, he was shoved back against the wall by one of the guards. He kicked back. His head was jammed against the wall. his arms were being pulled taut. His foot finally connected with something, but nothing about his situation changed. 

His arms were yanked behind his back and away from the wall. Before he could attempt to push off of the ground into a flip, the multiple hands on him forced him to his knees. The itch of wrongness burst from his chest, shattering it into spiderweb fractures. Damian snarled at the guards. He knew that he wasn’t going to last long if he had to fight on two fronts. He needed to be in control of something.

The boss grabbed Damian’s hair to force his head up. “So, this is where things are going to start getting interesting,” he said. Damian longed to rip that smirk off his smug face, but keeping any hands away from the hem of his shirt was a more pressing matter. His head was turned from side to side. “Now, are you going to tell me what I want to know or am I going to have to get creative?”

He had to end this quickly before the screaming in his head got any worse. Damian let the sly grin he had used earlier slip onto his face. “That depends. Do you think that you’re able to afford my price?” His head snapped to the side when the man slapped him. The question had the intended effect. The man’s smirk was gone and anger had replaced his need to extract questions. 

He stood up and straightened his shirt. “You’ve made a terrible mistake, boy,” he growled. As his mouth opened, probably to threaten Damian further, something rolled into the room. Smoke filled the air. Damian’s smirk grew. 

He lunged up, smacking his head into the person above him. His foot found solid ground. Pushing with as much force as he could, Damian launched over the person holding his arms. The other leg, he swung wildly in the direction of the other guard. His foot hit something. His arms were released. A few seconds later, another pain of hands landed on his face. Damian flinch instinctively before he noticed the iconic messy hair through the clearing smoke.

“Damian?” inquired the concerned voice. Hearing his name caused the screaming to subside enough to be manageable. “Are you okay? What happened? What the hell did you think you were doing?” Since Dick’s voice was getting more angry than concerned, Damian decided it was time to end his one sided game of twenty questions.

“I’m fine.” He pulled away and forced his mask of professionalism in place. Turning to the desk, Damian started going through the scattered paperwork with trembling hands. “This information should allow Father to complete his newest mission early.”

“Damian?” Great. Pitty had creeped over the concern. 

He interrupted whatever question was about to come out, “Have you taken care of everything else? found the kids?” He hoped that by moving around more, his shaking would be hidden. He just needed some more time to get himself under control again.

“Yes, they’re fine. But what-”

“Good. Get some of these papers so we can go.” It was a weak distraction, but it was enough to shut up the questions for now.

\---

With all the papers collect and delivered to Batman, all of the children interviewed and in safe hands, and all previous attempts of confrontation more or less successfully avoided, Damian found himself curled up in a corner of the library with Alfred curled up on his lap. Of course the moment he was finally comfortable would be when Grayson once again attempt to confront him.

“Hey Little D,” he greeted. He was also dressed in pajamas and was carrying a peace offering in the form of the other Alfred’s hot chocolate. “Mind if I sit?”

Damian considered it for a few moments. If he didn’t agree now it would only concern the man and make him more pussy. He shrugged. “Only if you hand over the drink.” Dick smiled. He handed over the mug and sat next to Damian on the settee. 

“So,” he started, “are you finally ready to talk about what happened?” 

“There isn’t really much to discuss that hasn’t already been covered,” Damian eluded.

“Oh yeah?” he asked. “What about why you decided to go undercover without any backup into a prostitution and kidnapping ring?”

Damian shrugged again. “There’s nothing new about that. I go off on my own all the time. You already expressed your displeasure about that.” He was starting to get annoyed from Grayson’s pushiness. 

“You don’t usually risk your identity like that,” he explained. “And this wasn’t your usual run and punch method you tend to use when you go off like that. What did you do?”

It was unfair. Grayson was using his body language to convey extreme concern for Damian. If he didn’t know any better, Damian almost expected the man to burst into tears any second. But nothing about him seemed forged or fake. It had been becoming harder to refuse such extreme, genuine requests from this person who had taken the role of his older brother. “I was just utilizing my training.”

“What training?” Dick pressed. “I know for a fact that Bruce didn’t teach you that.” 

Damian scoffed. “I was trained extensively before Father.” Sometimes Grayson seemed incapable of picking up on hints.

“I can’t see where seduction becomes relevant in training to be an assassin.”

Damain rolled his eyes before turning to sit cross legged facing Dick. “Assassins don’t just kill,” he said. “Sometimes you have actually get close to your targets to kill them. Especially if it’s supposed to look like a normal death.” Dick was silent as he processed this new information. Damian returned to his previous position and placed his now empty mug on the floor. “I’d think that you would stop being surprised after all this time.”

Dick looked at him with surprised concern and wide eyes. “You’re my little brother, Damian. I care about you.” He bumped his shoulder against Damian’s. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Dick’s eyebows bunched together once more. 

Damian sighed. “What is it?”

“Huh?”

“What’s bothering you now? Get it over with.”

“Are you alright?”

“Tt.” Damian crossed his arms. “I thought we already covered that I’m fine.”

“I know that you’re not hurt, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” He was rubbing his thumb over his hand nervously. “I’m talking about - did it make anything worse.” 

It was only because Grayson’s eyes flicked down to his chest that Damian was able to work out what he was talking about. “I’m fine. I promise. I may not like it, but my body is a weapon. I know how to use it as well as every other weapon I’ve been trained in.”

“Just because you’re trained and can do something doesn’t mean that it won’t have a negative effect.” 

“I am perfectly capable of handling what has happened.” Damian scratched Alfred’s head in order to pretend to be as strong as he felt he should be. “If they had gone further, I don’t think I would be fine.” He looked into directly into Dick’s eyes for the first time since they arrived at the manor. “I know my weapons. I’m comfortable enough with my body and who I am to know how to be alright.”

“That’s good.” Dick wrapped him in a one armed hug. “Just remember that we’ll always be here if anything ever changes, Little D.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Great! Now show me one I can atually find."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than the last one but has a bit more interaction. I promise the next one will be longer!

Damian didn’t understand why people always raved about the softness of grass and the joy of lying in it. In reality, grass was scratchy and wet. And besides the fact that it was unbecoming of someone of his status to be lying on the ground, it unnerved Damian that he never quite knew exactly what he was touching underneath the greenery. Really, there was only one reason why he would be risking a surprise attack by a genetically modified, venomous beetle or an intrusive sibling; Colin.

Unlike the grass, Colin was warm and kind of squishy, but in a good way. Samian was aware that he didn’t know everything about Colin, but he knew that the boy was completely trustworthy and safe. He was comfortable, which really was the only reason that when Colin had flopped on the grass and indicated that Damian should as well he had done so. There was a lot of things that only Colin was able to convince him to do. For example, no one else would be able to get Damian to lie with his head on their stomach. At least, not without considerable force and some restraints. Only Colin. And while Damian could count the people he would willingly be physically affectionate towards n one hand, only Colin was able to take Damian’s affection further while still respecting Damian’s boundaries. 

Frankly, it was nice. He would punch anyone who would claimed that he was enjoying himself, but Damian liked the feeling of Colin’s arm draped over his chest. He appreciated that when he turned his head to the side he had the perfect view of Colin’s face. And, most importantly, the shaking of Colin’s belly when he laughed made chuckling along almost irresistible. 

Damian would never admit it, but he was glad that he had brothers who were capable of protecting the city for one night without him so he could have moments like these. 

“What’s that one?” asked Colin. Damian followed his finger to see which cluster of stars he was to identify now.

“That’s the winter triangle.” 

Colin’s arm fell, and he cocked his head. “But it’s not winter yet.” That was true. Leaves were falling, and night was coming sooner every day. But it was still warm enough to only warrant a sweater on clear nights like this.

“No, it’s not, but winter constellations are visible now because they they are still shifting into position.”

“What’s different about the sky tonight then?” Damian loved Colin’s questions.

“Everything.” 

Colin sat up a bit, leaning on his arms to look down at Damian better. “How?”

“Well, what is visible in the sky is always shifting. It doesn't stop and won’t until the Earth stops moving. The sky is completely different every night.” Colin dropped back down, his eyes locked on the sky.

“Awesome.”

“Tt.” Damian grinned. “It’s just science.”

“Hey,” Colin’s hand returned to it’s previous position, “can you show me a star? An important one.”

Damian hummed and turned his attention to the sky. After a few moments of consideration, he took Colin’s hand and moved it to point towards a star about halfway up in the sky. “That’s the north star. If you can find it then you won’t ever need to worry about getting lost again. It’s probably the most useful star.” 

Colin narrowed his eyes. “But how do you find it? Doesn’t it just get lost in all the other stars?”

“Remember what I said earlier about the sky changing?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, this is a star that won’t move. So, if you go like this,” Damian let go of Colin’s hand to fold his three middle fingers into his palm while keeping the thumb and pinky stretched to the side, “you can measure the sky.”

“Cool,” Colin whispered as he copied Damian’s movements. He moved his hand to the side, attempting to get a feel for measuring the sky. “So, this star will be there no matter where I go?”

“Not necessarily.”

“What do you mean?” He looked back down at Damian. 

Damian moved his hand into the correct position. “The north star doesn’t move, but we do. Here in the Gotham area, the star is around 50 degrees in the sky. When you move around, the star shifts accordingly. Eventually, when you get to the north pole, the star will be straight above. That’s another reason why it really is the most practical start to be acquainted with.”

Colin stared at him for a few moments. “You’re smart,” he said. Allowing his eyes to drift back to the star, he asked his next question. “Ok, now show me something that I’ll actually be able to find!”

Damian humphed. He waved his hand at another section of the sky. “Orion is over there. See those three stars?” He pointed along with the description. “They’re all right next to each other and in a line.”

Colin search for a few moments. “Oh! Those one’s there, right?”

“Yeah.” He followed the other boy’s finger. “Well those are the belt. They’re the easiest to spot. Those two stars up there form the shoulders. And those two down there form the rest of his body. They make a kind of rectangle shape with the belt in the middle. Those stars over there are his weapon. Most people say it’s a bow with those stars there being the arrows, but some other people say he’s holding a sword.”

“Which do you think it is?”

“Damian leaned his head back. “I don’t really care. He’s a warrior and he can fight with either.”

Colin traced the constellation with his finger. “Where’d you learn all of this?”

Damian dropped his arm. “It was part of my training.”

“When did you train to be an astronomer?” The lightness of his tone informed Damian that Colin was not trying to make fun of him. It must be one of those jokes he was so fond of.

“Never.” He turned on his side to better watch Colin. “I learned these things as a method of navigation. USing the north star you can get a sense of where in the world you are and which direction you need to head.”

Colin sat up on one elbow. “Can you do anything else with the stars? Besides, seduce people?”

Damian smirked. “Of course.” He rolled off Colin and mirrored his position. “By identifying different constellations, you can determine what time of year it is. And then there’ the moon. It’s almost as useful as the north star.” Damian loved the sheen of admiration that shown from COlin’s expression. “Based on the moon’s position in the sky, you know what time it is. Because of that you can also use it if you need to measure a length of time as well. Then the phase of the moon gives a rough estimate of what time of month it is too.”

Colin’s eyes raked the sky again. “That’s a lot of stuff.”

“Indeed.”

“You know,” Colin’s attention returned to Damian, “I never thought that your training would include anything like this.”

Damian cocked his head. “What did you think I did to train?”

Colin shrugged. “I dunno Cooking popcorn on the stove and catching the kernels as the popped?”

Damian’s brow scrunched. “How do you come up with these things? That wouldn’t be very effective training.”

Colin shrugged again but with a grin. “It would test reflexes and control.”

“How so?” Damian rolled onto his stomach with his arms folded in front of him.

“Well, you have to grab the kernels during the short time that they’re in the air, and you have to be careful so you don’t crush it or burn yourself. Oh! speed too. You have to drop the kernels into a bowl fast enough to grab the next one. Not to mention that it would get harder as more kernels started popping.”

Damian narrowed his eyes. “That doesn’t sound very effective. It doesn’t really have any combat equivalent.”

“How do you know unless you try it?” questioned Colin with a raised eyebrow.

Damian pushed off the grass and stood up. “You are correct, of course.” He offered Colin his hand and pulled him up when he grabbed it. “ I believe Alfred should have some popcorn somewhere,” he mentioned while straightening himself and walking towards the manor.

Colin’s grin broke out into a full blown smile as he grabbed Damian’s hand again and started running. “Hurry up. I can’t wait to see this!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Does that needle count as a weapon?”  
> “Depends on who's using it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention last time that the popcorn traing method is dedicated to my coworker who asked what I was writing and asking if that's how ninjas train.

This was the first time that Colin had gone on a class trip. The public school he attended before wouldn’t have dared to try wrangling so many rowdy kids into a public space. Not to mention that neither the school nor the kids would have been able to pay for any extra activities. Still, he had heard of kids going on school trips to zoos and museums and famous landmarks. They always sounded like a lot of fun! So, he was super excited for this trip.

Damian, on the other hand, looked like he would rather be anywhere else. Colin would admit that the bus was a bit too crowded and loud to be comfortable, but they were going camping! Still, Damian seemed as if he was being forced to choose between two evils. It was probably the dilemma of choosing a seating arrangement. If he chose to sit in the window seat then he’d be able to use Colin as shield between himself and the their classmates, but it would also leave him in a cornered position, which would make it more difficult to escape into more open territory. The choice made him look constipated.

Colin decided to make the decision for him. “Hey,” he tapped Damian’s shoulder, “could you take the window seat? They make me feel nauseous on long rides.”

“Tt. Of course.” Damian pushed his way into the first row window seat, closest to the door. Colin’s smile grew impossible wider when Damian didn’t question the absence of said nausea whenever Alfred would give the boys a ride to the manor from school. 

“Are you excited?” Colin asked as he dropped into the seat next to Damian.

“No.” Damian crossed his arms and glared ahead at the other children and teachers boarding the bus and finding seats.

“Why?” Colin figured that if he could find out what the boy was dreading then he could prevent it and make sure that he had a good time instead. He bumped shoulders with Damian. “Come on, tell me.”

“Why on Earth would I want to spend any longer that I had to alone with these imbeciles?”

“You won’t be alone with them, I'm not going away.”

Damian glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. His lips pulled down a smidge more. “The pleasure of your company has nothing to do with the problem.” He seemed to pick his next words carefully. “It’s a bad dad.”

Colin’s eyebrows drew together as he asked, “How bad?”

“Not horrible, but bad,” Damian shrugged.

Colin hummed in thought. “Well then, how about you take a nap until we get to the campground?”

Damian looked affronted. “A nap?”

“Yeah. Then you won’t have to think about it for a while.”

“Tt.” Damian looked forward again. “How could anyone find this disgusting place restful?”

Colin gently tugged Damian’s hands out from under his crossed arms. “Just try it. Come on.” He tugged on a clump of Damian’s hair until the boy’s head was on his shoulder. He placed his head on Damian’s and lightly rubbed his fingers back and forth as he knew Damian sometimes allowed Dick to. “Better?” He took Damian’s slightly less aggressive grunt as an affirmative.

“Colin?” His attention was dragged to his and Damian’s homeroom teacher who was crouched in the isle with a tight smile on his face. “Is Damian feeling alright?”

“Oh, yeah,” he quickly replied. “He, uh, gets motion sickness sometimes.” Damian displayed his displeasure with Colin’s answer with a light swat to the side but didn’t move out of his position.

“Well, does he need any medicine?” Mr. Benst asked.

“Oh no, he’ll be fine!” Colin shot the man the smile that had gotten him out of more than a few scoldings from teachers and strangers alike. The teacher nodded and returned the smile. It was a perk of being an orphan.

“Alright, let me know if he get’s worse. I’ll just be a few rows behind you,” he said as he stood to go back to his seat.

“Or course. Thank you, Mr. Benst!” Colin spent the rest of the ride stroking Damian’s hair, staring out the window, and imagining all the exciting things they were going to do.

 

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when, but Damian had eventually fallen asleep. But with the gates of the campground coming closer in view, Colin could no longer resist the temptation of waking Damian up. Leaning closer to his ear, he whispered, “Damian, wake up. Come on!” while gently shaking him.

Damian grunted and turned his head further into Colin’s neck. “I can hear all their little shrieks still, so don’t you dare try to get me up yet, Wilkes,” he grumbled. Colin chuckled and wondered how Alfred managed to entice the boy into waking on a school day after all of his long nights.

“Well, you’re not going to have a choice soon because we’re just about there.” Colin lifted his head off of Damian’s to avoid getting hit. “Unless you don’t want to be the first person off the bus. Then you’d have to wait for everyone else to leave before you could. 

As expected, is head jerked up with the threat of extended time in the cramped bus. “You are a manipulative, little rat, Wilkes,” he said with thinned eyes but a hint of fondness. 

The bus rolled to a stop as Colin responded with a chuckled, “Sure. You know you love me.”

Despite his grumblings and complaints, Damian grabbed Colin’s hand as they stood up and dragged him off the bus. He didn’t let go when they hit fresh air, which was a clear enough response from Damian as Colin was going to get. So, Colin swayed his arm back and forth, forcing Damian to do the same. The flick of a smile from Damian’s side may have been a trick of the light, but it was enough to cause Colin’s to widen anyways. 

Conversations were interrupted by the teachers. They were quickly ushered into groups based on homerooms and started explaining the rules and expectations of the trip. Colin turned to Damian. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked quietly.

Damian leaned closer before replying, “Better but still not good. And if any of these little creatons tries to bother me, I can’t promise that I won’t punch them.”

Colin wouldn’t expect anything less. “Be careful, I think you might be picking up a few things from Jason.”

Damian wrinkled his nose. “Don’t even pretend to joke about such serious matters. I refuse to be anything like the family disappointment.”

“Don’t worry,” Colin laughed quietly. “You have too much class to be like him.” He leaned closer and spoke softer. “You’re more handsome too.” The corner of Damian’s mouth flicked up as he nodded his head once in agreement. Meanwhile, Colin’s head snapped to the sde as he listened to Mr. Benst. “Did you hear that?” He turned back towards Damian with his eyes wide and full to bursting with excitement. “They have zip lines!”

 

The camp was large and meticulously kept. There were fields of grass and a large lake and groves of trees and wooden cabins and a fire pit. It had everything that Colin had ever imagined belonged at a camp. Still, the signs of the wealth of this particular camps patrons were everywhere. Not only was there a zip line and rows of canoes but archery stations and horse stables as well. The cabins were made out of wooden logs to mirror old pioneer cabins, but the insides were well insulated and modernly chic. Everything was a little too well cleaned.

Campfires roared at night, but even the s'mores were distributed pre-made and on platters. Admittedly, it took some of the fun out of the situation. Not to say that the experience wasn’t still fun. Colin thought that he’s be used to the posh extremity of high class society after being in the school for so long. Yet, they still managed to surprise him. 

Colin held up his s'more to better examine the interior. Slowly peeling the sides of the fluff, he was able to free the delicately toasted marshmallow. Then he searched the found around him. Frowning, he nudged Damian. “Hey, hold this for a second, will you?” Without waiting for a response, he dropped the dissected s'more on the boy’s lap. there was a grove of trees nearby that, thankfully, has sticks scattered around the ground. It would have been freaky if there weren't even sticks in the forest. Returning to the fire pits, he chose to ignore the die glances of his classmate in favor of Damian’s frown.

“What are you doing?” questioned Damian. “Is there something wrong witht the desert? should I be worried?”

Colin interrupted him with a wave of his hand. Nothing’s wong.” He grabbed his freed marshmallow and pierced it with the stick. “I just prefer my smores like this.” In a display that would shock and aggravate many a s'mores master, Colin poked his stick right into the middle of a flame. He pulled it out with the marshmallow on fire. It stayed on fire for a few moments until Colin deemed it decently burned and blew it out. Damian looked confused and had that expression he adopted when he wasn’t sure which question to ask first. “See, if you roast the marshmallow like this then you get more flavor and a bit of crunch. Plus, it’s warmer,” Colin explained.

“But, the stick,” Damian argued. “Why would you risk infecting your food with an unknown substance if you didn’t have to?”

Colin sighed and leaned against Damian playfully. “Don’t worry about it.” He poked the boy’s cheek for emphasis. “It’s fine and it tastes so much better.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he conceded. “Honestly, I don't know why anyone enjoys these silly things.” 

Their conversations was interrupted by a loud, rude comment by a nearby classmate about hillbillies and demons. Remembering what Damian had said earlier, Colinn quickly jumped for a distraction. “Say, damian, you’ve never told me what your favorite dessert is.”

Damian ignored him and turned to confront the person he currently viewed as the enemy. “How about you watch your fu-”

“Damian!” His head snapped towards Colin, anger glowing within his eyes and back ramrod straight. Colin threw his arm over Damian’s shoulders to lean closer to him. “What is your favorite dessert?” he asked gently.

“What does it matter? That-”

“Hey, it matters to me. That,” he gestured behind him, “doesn’t. Now, answer the question.”

The anger was starting to seep away but his muscles were still tense. “Mochi. Filled with azuki beans.”

Colin tilted his head away. “What’s that?”

“It’s a Japanese dessert. A sticky rice dough ball filled with a red bean paste.”

“Sounds like something you’d like,” laughed Colin. He could still feel the stares on his back, but Damian was calmed down at least. Besides, he was too tired to deal with them right now. Colin glanced at his watch. They had ten minutes until it was time to get ready for the night. Colin straightened up. “Hey, do you remember where the bathrooms are?” he asked.

“Yes,” Damian answered.

“Awesome!” He jumped up and pulled Damian with him. “Show me.”

Damian signed but started walking anyway. When they were out of hearing distance of the crowd, he spoke. “You know perfectly well where the facilities are. What are you planning?” 

He shrugged one shoulder and boasted a cheeky smile. “I just thought that you might want to take a shower before everyone else started getting ready for bed tonight. And the bathroom is going to be packed tomorrow with people trying to primp and preen and all that,” he explained. Judging by the fact that Damian had stopped in his tracks, he was surprised by Colin's foresight.

After a few seconds longer than awkward, Damian dragged Colin into a hug. “Thank you.”

Colin closed his eyes and squeezed tight before pulling away. “Come on. We don’t have long.” Damian nodded quickly and continued pulling Colin onwards. 

Even the bathrooms here were lavish. Every inch of the walls and floors were tiled and pristine. The shower stalls had fancy, colored glass doors instead of curtains. The facilities had gone as far as to include complimentary towels. It was like a hotel.

Colin respectfully turned his back as Damian disrobed. He traced the pattern of the tiles until he heard the water start. “So, uh, do you want me to go get you a change of clothes?” he asked. “I didn’t think to grab any before.”

Damian cleared his throat. Colin worried about what would cause Damian to be nervous. “Actually, could you stay?”

“Oh! Sure,” Colin jumped up onto the long counter in front of the largest vanity mirror he’s ever seen. 

“It would . . . benefit me if you would talk right now.”

“Of course.” Colin never liked the implications of that tone. “Mother Carbena found a new pasta sauce recipe. I think she only uses it because it’s more watered down - and that means that they don’t need to spend as much money on ingredients - but she claims that it’s because this new sauce is healthier. I mean, it doesn't taste bad but the consistency is all wrong for spaghetti sauce, ya know? Her old recipe wasn’t even that great, but it was better than this new one. I don’t think that anyone’s brave enough to actually tell her that, though. I mean, have you seen her face when you don’t clear your plate? I swear that she’s probably the host for a cooking demon or something.” The water turned off, so Colin turned his head again to give Damian his privacy. “Has anyone ever told you that you take super quick showers?”

“It’s a necessary skill.”

He sounded mad again. Turning to look, Colin understood why. Damian was fully dressed except for his binder, which he held in front of him. He was almost surprised that the clothing wasn’t smoking with the intensity of his stare. Colin shrugged out of his hoodie and held it out. “Here.” At Damian’s questioning look he elaborated. “You’ve already been wearing it too long today.” He shook the jacket. “This should help at least until we get back to our bunks.”

Damian closed his eyes and took the jacket. “Thanks.” Frankly, he looked ridiculous in the large, orange jacket. 

It seemed as if they had made perfect timing to miss the crowds. They skirted around the large mass of students heading to the showers on their way back to the cabins,which were nice and empty when they arrived. True to form, there were things tossed allover the place to create a pretty messy atmosphere. At least all of the messes were contained within each person’s little rectangle of assigned space. 

There was, however, a surprise when they came to their assigned beds. They were messy. But neither boy had left any sort of mess when they had left earlier. There were clothes scattered all around and over the bed. A toothbrush laid on the pillow, separated from the tube of toothpaste that had been crushed into the carpet. The few books that Colin had brought with him were balanced in uncaring,precarious positions. And Colin’s bag was pulled wide open and upside down. The boy stared down his belonging with the grin slipping down.

“I guess they still don’t like me,” he said. Damian watched with his shoulders, eyes, and fists all set for murder when Colin picked up one of his torn shirts. “Gotta admit, this was a bit overkill. They could have at least left everything in one piece.”

Damian yanked the shirt from his hands and sat on his own bed. Only a quick second glance was given to the shirt before it was shoved onto the bed. Colin sat down on his own bed and watched his friend bend to dig through his luggage for something. Damian completed his search with the reveal of a tiny, black box. Colin watched with interest. A small spool of thread was removed next, soon followed by the shortest pair of scissors Colin had ever seen and a thin needle. 

“That’s a sewing needle.”

Damian rolled his eyes. “I thought we were passed redundant identifications, Wilkes.” He started pulling a length of thread off the spool and snipped it free.

“Well, a guy never knows with you.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I didn’t know you knew how to sew.”

Damian shrugged back. “It’s a useful skill. One you never know you need until you need it. For example.” He waved the shirt before running the end of the thread over his tongue. Colin watched, entranced, as he poked the thread through the microscopic hole of the needle.

“Does that count as a weapon?” he asked. Now Damian was rolling the ends of the thread around his fingers. “Because, you know we aren’t allowed to bring weapons. And i don’t want you to get caught or something.”

“Depends on who’s using it. and how they're using it.” He stabbed the fabric of the shirt. “Besides, anything can be used as a weapon. It’s flawed logic to ban all weapons.”

“I guess that makes sense. After all, you’re you.” Damian nodded as if Colin had just given sage advice. Meanwhile, Colin continued to watch his friend carefully but in quick motions stitch the two sides of the fabric together. The needle went out and over and back through over and over again. In seemingly no time at all, the shirt was flipped and presented to him. He gently took it, examining the new seam with a smile. “That’s so cool! You also can’t even tell that it was ripped. Damian, you’re amazing!” 

Damian simply shrugged a shoulder, but Colin could see the slight lift to the edges of his mouth. Just to be sure that his appreciation was communicated, he jumped up and tackled the boy in a hug. 

“Admit it,” he said. “Admit that you’re secretly some minor god and that’s why you have all these cool powers.”

Damian’s smile grew. “I am in no way a god, Wilkes.”

“Hmm,” he rested his chin on Damian’s shoulder. “Maybe not. But you are my Damian, and that’s pretty close.” 

Damian let loose a quick laugh as he pushed himself up. “Whatever you say. Now how about we finish cleaning up this mess and see if anything else needs to be repaired.”

Colin rolled on his back. “Nah. I think I’m comfy here.” 

The repaired shirt was thrown over his face. “You’re helping, Wilkes, or I’ll never reveal another ‘magical’ skill to you.” Somehow, this threat seemed to get Colin on his feet in record time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was never a simple mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, thanks for your patience! If you guys have any ideas or prompts that you want to see, feel free to mention them. I can't promise anything, but I'm always open to ideas.

“It was supposed to be a simple mission!”

Damian was starting to hate those words. Nothing was ever simple about these missions. It doesn’t matter if it was just supposed to be recon or a quick pick up or drop off. Eventually, they all ended with those same words being thrown into the universe as if it would somehow make the now complicated, and usually dangerous, situation go back to being nothing more than the simple mission it supposedly was on paper.

It wasn’t simple anymore. They just had to deal with that. 

And, sure, yeah, maybe it was him who first muttered those cursed words to Jon earlier that night, but there was no way the boy would have joined him if he hadn’t downplayed what they were doing. But that also didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be the one to get them out of it. Damian was not one who easily left things unfinished.

Damian was also not one to let someone else have the final word. “I agree. This is taking much too long, “ he said. “Now hurry up and help me get us out of here.”

Jon huffed, but turned his attention back to their opponents on the other side of their makeshift blockade. “Honestly, I don’t know why I still come out on these things with you.”

“Neither do I. Your flight should have been able to make this much easier. Yet, here we are.”

“Hey! This isn’t my fault.”

“I don’t care what you think. Point is that you’re being distracting instead of helpful right now.” Damian poked his head up over the barricade, but quickly ducked back down to avoid the rain of bullets. “So, help me plan his escape or shut your yap.”

“Shut my - have you been listening to anything I’ve been saying? You’re just as hard headed as your dad.”

“Yeah? Well too bad you’re not as useful as yours. And that really is a new low considering your father wasn’t too useful anyway.”

“I dunno.  _ Batman _ seems to appreciate his help.”

Before Damian could reply, a small voice interrupted. “Um, I dunno what’s going on, but we can we please focus?” The girl sitting between the two superheros looked the perfect mix of shocked and afraid to create an expression much closer to disgust.

“That’s exactly what I’ve been saying,” replied Damian. Jon opened his mouth to add his input, but Damian cut him off before he could even start. “Superboy, if you propel our barricade towards the gunmen then it should surprise them long enough for us to make a run for those woods. But the timing has to be perfect, so get ready to run.

“What?’ asked both the girl and Jon as Damian switched from a crouch to a sprinting starting position. 

He turned and started yanking the girl into a similar position while addressing Jon. “You need to get ready to push this right back towards those guys firing at us, and we’re going to make a run for those woods. Do try to keep up. And don’t forget to follow us.”

“I’m not-” Jon started.

“Three,” Damian interrupted, “Two.” Jon scrambled to a position that would allow him to put more force on their protection. “One.”

Superboy slammed into the barricade, propelling it forward and surprising the gunmen as planned. Meanwhile. Damian sprinted towards the nearby wooded area with the girl stumbling behind him. It was only a few seconds before Jon was able to turn and follow suit. 

The trees came up quickly, but not quick enough to evade the sight of the gunmen. 

“Hurry it up!” Damian yelled behind him. He knew that Kent would be able to catch up quickly, but the girl had been injured. Still, they just had to get deep enough to be able to lose the gunmen. 

Up ahead, he spotted a tree - a large tree. Unless everyone in the group suddenly acquired new skills or powers they would be caught, so it was the best change they had. Damian paused to let the girl catch up a bit before jumping onto the first branch of the tree. He leaned over and reached down for the girl’s hand when she was close enough. She jumped, but he still had to pull her up. It was obviously she was in pain, but they needed to keep moving. Luckily, Jon still had his flight - limited as it was amongst the branches.

When they were high enough off the  ground to not be seen, they all took a much needed breather. The branches were thick enough to support all of their weight, but there wasn’t much wiggle room available. And the girl had to hold onto the branch above them to keep steady. There was blood dripping down her face, but it didn’t look overly serious. What did look serious was the hand she was holding close to her chest. Some of the fingers were bent at odd angles. She would need help to climb anywhere, but it didn’t seem like her legs were hindered, which was good. They would need to run soon.

Now that they were able to breathe more easily, Jon faced him with a stern glare. “So, now we’re stuck in a tree like cats. Do you have other  _ brilliant  _ ideas, oh great leader?”

Damian chose to ignore the sarcasm. And the question. “Stay with the civilian, Superboy.” 

“And where are you going?” Damian didn’t wait for the boy to finish his angry sentence before he continued climbing. 

This tree was thick, but not the tallest. There was, however, a suitably high tree a few yards to his right. His current tree was just overlapping with its neighbor, so he didn’t have far to jump. It was really more like a lunge. Only with no margin for error. This tree was a bit more slippery under his hands, but the wider leaves gave great coverage from the men they were trying to escape. He moved to the trunk of the tree and took a small step up to the opposite branch. There was a bit of scooting required to get close enough to the next tree due to the lower level of the branches.

Normally, he would just hang from the branches and swing since it was easier, but that would make far too much noise. The next tree had much thinner branches. Damian almost fell when he first put his weight on the branch. He reached up and grabbed two other branches and pulled to attempt to distribute more of his weight. Unfortunately, this came at the cost of the branches shaking and rattling the leaves. To cover his tracks, he let out a generic bird call before moving onwards to, hopefully, mask his movement for anyone who might have caught it. He was so close. Finally, after one more short jump, he was on his target tree. The leaves here were much thinner, but he would be moving upwards, so hopefully the height would camouflage him.

Reach, pull, step, push. Reach, pull, step, push. Reach, pull, step, push. It was just like climbing a ladder, only more uneven and with more bending. He worked as quickly as he could without giving up his position to get as high as possible. When the branches started to get too thin, he stopped and looked over the area. 

It was clear day, which was good and bad. There some clouds rolling in on the horizon, though. It wouldn’t take long for the weather to reach them. Hopefully, they would be out of the woods - figuratively and literally - by that time. Still, they needed a safer place to stay while the initial search died down. The timing would be delicate. There was short time in between when the gunmen would regroup to form a more coherent plan and the execution of said more organized hunt for them. That little in between time is when they would have to make their escape.

The wooded area extended further than it had looked on the ground. That could be a good thing. It would give them more cover. It could also be a hindrance. They needed to get through the village before they would be anywhere close to safe. Until then, they had to stay alert and find a place to regroup. 

Damian scanned over the area. It was a pretty diverse area, but he doubted that he would find any large animals that would be a threat. The question remained of if the the animals ever existed there or if they were more recently run off. There might be a few hide holes leftover that they could use. Or - that worked too. About halfway between where he had left Jon and the edge of the forest was a small break in the trees. It looked like a small house. Very small. But it would do. And it had the best chance  of having some medical supplies that they could use. 

With a safe location in mind, Damian retraced his steps back to where he had left his companions who now looked considerably more pissed. Jon turned on him before he even touched down on the branch. 

“Where the h-e-double-hockey-sticks were you? We’ve talked about this. You can’t just run off like that!”

“Shut up,” Damian ordered. “ You’ll draw attention to us.”

“Well, we’d be more effective if we knew what the plan is. that is, if you have a plan at all!”

“I have a plan!”

“It’s ok if you don’t. That’s what a team is for, so you can all share ideas and find the best course of action. and keep everyone safe.”

“I will keep everyone safe, but to do that we have to get moving.”

Damian moved to go around the super, but Jon refused to move. “You just don’t get it, do you? there’s something called communication.” He poked Damian in the chest. “And you need to learn it.”

“Well, I’ll never get the chance to if we don’t get  _ move. _ ” Jon clenched his teeth and crossed his arms. “Fine!” Damian exclaimed. “We can discuss the further -  _ after _ we get to our destination. You can fly. Help her down.” He gestured vaguely to the girl before tuning to start his own quick decent. 

The girl eyed Jon for a few seconds before she allowed his to pick he up. “So, are you ever going to actually tell us where we’re going?” she asked with a bit of anger in her voice.

Damian glanced back. “It’d be quicker to just show you.”

“Whatever,” she grumbled, tipping her head so her curls wouldn’t get caught by a passing branch. 

Their movement on the ground managed to not go any faster than their descent from the tree. This had less to do with the change in terrain and all to with the careful observation each person had to keep of their surrounding. Despite the frustration from within the group, each was a little too aware for comfort of the fact that they were being hunted. 

Still, the clouds continued to roll in. The air slowly got heavier with the distinct smell of rain. Their steps got even lighter as they tried to avoid leaving any trace. This was easier for some than others. And it wasn’t until a sudden crack of thunder that anyone spoke again.

“Ar-are we getting close?” asked the civilian. Being from the area, she was all to aware of how dangerous it could be to be caught in a storm without any shelter. The rain could come down hard and fast without any warning. Of course, sometimes it was fine. Sometimes it was nothing but a thin stream of rain for hours and hours on end. Sometimes for days. She had a feeling today they wouldn’t be so lucky. 

Damian glanced at her before turning his attention to the sky. “I think so.”

“You  _ think  _ so?” she replied more harshly.

“Yes. Obviously I wouldn’t know for sure. Everything looks different from the ground than the sky.” He turned to the other person in their party. “Superboy. I need you to fly me up to the top of that tree quickly and, as much as you’re capable of, inconspicuously.”

“Oh! Now you need my help?” he responded with a bit of bite, still upset with their earlier conversation.

“Now’s not the time.”

“He’s right,” the girl added. “Rain comes quickly here, and I for one don’t want to be caught in it.”

“Fine.” 

Jon positioned his arms under Damian’s and lifted off as gently as he could. He tried to picture it like floating instead of flying, but it still ended up more violent than he had intended. Hopefully it was quiet enough. He focused on maneuvering them through the branches while making sure that they were still hidden by them. Damian tapped his arm to indicate that he was high enough. After a few seconds of looking around, he repeated the signal. Going down was more difficult than going up. Going up he could see where the obstacles were. Going down Damian was in his way. Damian came to a similar conclusion based on their slow descent and released his hold on Jon’s arms. After a moment of instinctual tightening of his hold, Jon understood Damian’s goal and let him go. They both made quick work of navigating the branches as they descended in their own ways. 

“Well?” the civilian asked.

“We’re close,” Robin replied. “It’s just a up here.”

The first drops of rain were just starting to fall as reached the edge of a small clearing. Taking up most of the space was a small house. Either the person who had been responsible for making the house wasn’t exactly professional, or the house was a lot older and in much more disarray that they thought, based on the slanting walls and gaps between boards. It didn’t look like anyone had been around it for a while. There was vegetation overtaking the walls and rust coating the small amount of metal. Underneath the ware, they could just make out bright splashes of paint that had faded into light pastels. Still, it looked structurally sound and would provide more cover than staying out in the open. The girl stared up at the house as Robin moved forward to force the door open. Superboy, instead, watched the uprooted vegetation as he too entered the house. 

The rain had indeed picked up as soon as it had started. All three children were at least damp by the time they stood inside the house. The girl continued to inspect the roof as Jon stood with her in the center of the house squinting at the clutter around them. As per usual, the other superhero was already moving. Damian was looking through the many jars and small boxes of supplies that lined the counters across the back wall. Everything was covered in dust, including the strange, abstract contraptions that lined the walls. 

“What is this place?” asked Jon.

Damian tossed a piece of stiff paper in his direction. “It was a clubhouse. Or something.”

The girl moved closer to Jon to look at the faded picture in his hands. It was a bit blurred, probably because of the person the arm that extended towards the edge of the frame. The girl’s eyes were closed in laughter, and her other arm was tossed around the shoulders of a young boy who was trying to give bunny ears to the older boy in the picture. The recipient seemed affronted and was pushing the boy into the girl. It was a joyful picture. 

“What do you think happened?” asked the civilian.

“They probably grew up.” Damian moved towards the group and reached out his hand towards the girl. “Let me see your hand.”

She glared at him in response and held her hand closer. After a few moments of mutual glaring, she relented with a sigh, and stuck out her hand. Damian’s touch was surprisingly gentle as he inspected the injured fingers. 

“Can you move your fingers?” he asked. 

“No,” she responded with a pained voice. He nodded and dropped her hand. Jon and the girl shared a glance while Damian moved back to shifting through containers.

“So,” Jon started, “I don’t think we ever got your name.”

“Yeah. We were in a bit of a rush.”

Jon gave a small laugh. “Yeah.” There was a few awkward moments of silence before he extended his own hand. “I’m Superboy.”

She reached out with her non-injured hand to take his. “I’m Lil. It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for half saving me, I guess.”

“Oh! It’s our pleasure. Really! And we’ll make it a full rescue. Soon.” He looked back to Damian. “Right, partner?” He gave a noncommittal grunt back. “Oh! And he’s Robin. Sorry for his attitude.” Jon lowered his voice to a whisper. “We’re trying to work on his social skills, but it, you know, take time.”

“Superboy!” Jon spun around to acknowledge Damian’s call. “Stop sprouting weird rumors.”

“Oh, like I’m the weird one,” he muttered back.

Damian ignored him in favor of once again approaching Lil. This time, he fiddled  with something in his hand. “I’m going to need your help, Superboy,” he said while cutting something stretchy with a batarang. 

“What?”

“May I see your hand again?” 

Lil looked more apprehensive this time, but still stuck out her hand. 

Damian shoved something hard into her other hand. It was one of those gigantic erasers. “It was in a wrapper still, so it’s clean. You’re going to want to put that in your mouth. It’ll help.”

“What?” She immediately brought her hand back to her chest.

“And try not to scream. We don’t want to let anyone know where we are.”

“Wait. Why am I going to scream?” 

“Because we need to do something about those fingers, and, while it will hurt, it will be better in the long run. Superboy, i need you to hold the finger straight while I restrict them.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

Damian held up the thin, rubbery tube of the bottom half of a balloon and some popsicle sticks. “The sticks will provide support and the balloon with keep it all together.”

“Is that safe?” Lil asked, pulling on a tight curl to try and dissipate some of her nerves. 

Damian shrugged. “I’ve never tried it, but it should work as a temporary solution, which is really all we need at this point. You are going to want to see a doctor when you get back home, of course.”

“Okay.” 

She stretched out her hand once again and put the eraser between her teeth. Superboy glanced at her, and, at seeing her nod, took her hand in one of his. He looked at Damian, who nodded. “Ok.” Using his other hand, he carefully held two popsicle sticks on the top and bottom of the first finger before straightening the finger. She squeezed her eyes shut, but stayed quiet. Damian moved quickly to work the balloon tail over her finger. The process went quickly, but both supers could tell that Lil was in pain. They were quick to finish on the remaining fingers.

When all was done, the rain barraged the thin roof while the three children sat below, waiting. One was still in pain. Another was lost figuring out what to do next. The third was stuck between the two with a need to do something. 

“So, Lil,” he started, “do you live in the town?”

She nodded. 

“How’d you get inside the base of a weapon smuggling ring?”

“The town knows about their activities. They just always keep it quiet and threaten us by saying that any additional noise will just bring us more hardships, not them. But, um, a lot of people were getting tired of them. Real tired. So, they took me on the way home from school. It was meant to be public. It was meant to scare people into continuing their silence. They, uh, told me that. Told me that silence buys lives.”

“Don’t worry,” Damian said. “I got more than enough evidence to get them out of here. Support should be on its way.”

“That’s great and all, but it won’t really matter if we get caught before then, right?”

“Yup.” He looked up at the ceiling. “We should probably get moving.” 

“I thought we were waiting out the rain?” asked Jon.

“No,” said Damian, “We were waiting for them to regroup because of the rain. You can carry her longer, right?”

“Yeah. shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Great.” He stood up and moved through the door. 

“Wait, how are we getting out of the forest without leaving tracks?” asked Lil. “It’s way too muddy!”

Damian opened the door and walked to the tree line, the others reluctantly following. “Easy.” He leapt up to grab the lowest branch. “We don’t use the ground.” 

He stared moving quickly through the trees, knowing that the other two would catch up soon. Shrugging, Jon crouched give Lil easier access to climb on his back. “Ready?” he asked. She nodded in return, and Superboy launched them into the sky. 

Moving within the trees definitely provided more cover, and Damian’s plan seemed to have worked since they didn’t see any dogs or people along their way. It didn’t take long to reach the end of the thicker trees. They could just make out the view of some building across a thin grove of sparser trees.

“That’s your home, right?” asked Superboy. 

“Yeah,” Lil nodded. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

Robin nodded from the branch nearest the floating couple. “It will be. Do you want an escort anywhere?”

She shook her head. “Nah. I know this place like the back of my hand. It’s home turf from here on out.” Robin nodded. Superboy dropped her off at pathway that ran along the forest before the town then returned to his friend.

"You're going to have to teach me how to do that," Jon said.

Damian nodded. "I'll add it to your training."

“So,” Jon started again, “what now?”

“Simple,” said Damian. “We go back and finish the mission.”


End file.
